Julie Gardener
New Member
By NORML on Sep 22, 2010
By Jen Alexander
A recent article by Storm Crow sheds light on a study that demonstrates a dramatic decrease in infant mortality rates for babies born testing positive for cannabinoids:
A total of 2,964 babies were drug-tested at birth to see if they were positive for drugs – cocaine, opioids or cannabis were studied. 44% of the infants tested positive for all varieties of drugs, including the 3 being studied. During the first two years of their lives, 44 babies from the original group died. Since statistics are a drag to slog through, I’ll cut right to the chase – the deaths per thousand live births – the numbers tell the story.
“No drugs at birth” deaths……. 15.7 deaths per 1000 live births
“Cocaine positive” deaths…….17.7 deaths per 1000 live births
“Opiate positive” deaths…….18.4 deaths per 1000 live births
“Cannabis positive” deaths…. 8.9 deaths per 1000 live births [5]
The cocaine and opiate babies have a higher death rate than the “No drugs” babies – that was to be expected. But look at the “cannabis” babies! Having extra cannabinoids in their bodies at birth (and likely later, from 2nd-hand exposure, or breast milk) seems to have some sort of a protective effect. The “cannabis” infants have a mortality rate almost half of what the “No drugs” infants have!
The study raises many interesting questions. As I read, these are some of the first questions that came to mind, along with my current research on the topics. I would have waited to post this until I could find more concrete information, but unfortunately, prohibition interferes with sound science on these issues, so I am just going to share my own thoughts and research with the hopes that it encourages more public outcry for further scientific study. Much of this is conjecture and guesses, but it is worth asking these questions and evaluating the information currently available and pursuing further research:
1. What further verification of this study can I find? Much as I like the info, I know I need to find a credible source for verification and so that others will believe the information.
A credible source was found to document the truth of the data presented by Storm Crow:
Pediatrics: Official Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics, published July 1, 1997;
The above source only contained the summary of the study, and I wanted to see more of the data. I have learned that statistics and percentages can be very misleading. Before long, I found the complete study using student access to PSU , and found even more surprising numbers than the above quote by Storm Crow reveals. The following table itemizes each category of test result; for instance, a positive test for cannabis could also include a positive test for opiates and/or cocaine, so this table further breaks out the categories into cannabis only, morphine (opiate) only, cocaine only and the “total” of all positive cannabis, morphine and cocaine tests (click links to view table and chart):
TABLE 3. Mortality Within 1 to 2 Years Among Infants (n = 2964) Who Were Screened for Gestational Exposure to Drugs by Meconium Analysis
Source: Pregnant Women Smoking Pot Could Reduce Infant Mortality
By Jen Alexander
A recent article by Storm Crow sheds light on a study that demonstrates a dramatic decrease in infant mortality rates for babies born testing positive for cannabinoids:
A total of 2,964 babies were drug-tested at birth to see if they were positive for drugs – cocaine, opioids or cannabis were studied. 44% of the infants tested positive for all varieties of drugs, including the 3 being studied. During the first two years of their lives, 44 babies from the original group died. Since statistics are a drag to slog through, I’ll cut right to the chase – the deaths per thousand live births – the numbers tell the story.
“No drugs at birth” deaths……. 15.7 deaths per 1000 live births
“Cocaine positive” deaths…….17.7 deaths per 1000 live births
“Opiate positive” deaths…….18.4 deaths per 1000 live births
“Cannabis positive” deaths…. 8.9 deaths per 1000 live births [5]
The cocaine and opiate babies have a higher death rate than the “No drugs” babies – that was to be expected. But look at the “cannabis” babies! Having extra cannabinoids in their bodies at birth (and likely later, from 2nd-hand exposure, or breast milk) seems to have some sort of a protective effect. The “cannabis” infants have a mortality rate almost half of what the “No drugs” infants have!
The study raises many interesting questions. As I read, these are some of the first questions that came to mind, along with my current research on the topics. I would have waited to post this until I could find more concrete information, but unfortunately, prohibition interferes with sound science on these issues, so I am just going to share my own thoughts and research with the hopes that it encourages more public outcry for further scientific study. Much of this is conjecture and guesses, but it is worth asking these questions and evaluating the information currently available and pursuing further research:
1. What further verification of this study can I find? Much as I like the info, I know I need to find a credible source for verification and so that others will believe the information.
A credible source was found to document the truth of the data presented by Storm Crow:
Pediatrics: Official Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics, published July 1, 1997;
The above source only contained the summary of the study, and I wanted to see more of the data. I have learned that statistics and percentages can be very misleading. Before long, I found the complete study using student access to PSU , and found even more surprising numbers than the above quote by Storm Crow reveals. The following table itemizes each category of test result; for instance, a positive test for cannabis could also include a positive test for opiates and/or cocaine, so this table further breaks out the categories into cannabis only, morphine (opiate) only, cocaine only and the “total” of all positive cannabis, morphine and cocaine tests (click links to view table and chart):
TABLE 3. Mortality Within 1 to 2 Years Among Infants (n = 2964) Who Were Screened for Gestational Exposure to Drugs by Meconium Analysis
Source: Pregnant Women Smoking Pot Could Reduce Infant Mortality
